Allow Me to Exaggerate A Memory or Two :: Chapter Seven (7/8)
Prologue | Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Chapter Five | Chapter Six | Chapter Seven | Chapter Eight
CHAPTER SEVEN
he spring term had gone by quicker than expected, Jon thought.
In the middle of April, the Quidditch season had come to its disappointing end (from his point of view), with Gryffindor facing Slytherin in the final match and beating them for the Cup with the narrowest of margins. He supposed from a purely spectator perspective, it had been a nail-biter to the very end, but after he'd learned that Brendon wouldn't be participating in the final-a match against Gryffindor meriting the heaviest and, of course, scariest line-up of the Slytherin team-he hadn't been terribly interested in the outcome. He had two friends in each House and had cheered the two teams on indiscriminately, although he had enjoyed the sight of Madam Hooch tearing a new one out of Montague for a particularly dirty foul.
After that a kind of lethargy had installed itself in the school, but then May had arrived and with it, the reminder of exams to come. For the first time in weeks, Jon and Spencer were actually using their Wednesday meeting to study, and it was taking its toll. Jon was bored out of his mind.
Finally he laid aside The Standard Book of Spells, Grade Two and pulled out his copy of the Daily Prophet. Spencer glanced up from his own work and gave him a look.
“Just doing my daily trawl,” Jon defended himself. “Just to clear my head.”
“Daily trawl?” Spencer asked, smiling. It looked as though he wouldn't mind being distracted from his studies for while, either.
“For news about Black,” Jon explained. “There still hasn't been any mention of the fact that he's entered Hogwarts twice. I just think that's weird. I mean, I think it would be in the public interest.”
Spencer shrugged.
“That's what I think is the weirdest thing about your world,” Jon said, aware of Spencer's frown at the use of the word “your” but ignoring it. “The way information isn't always shared with everyone.”
“They probably don't want to cause unnecessary panic,” Spencer said casually.
“It isn't only this, though,” Jon insisted. “I mean, it's like Professor Lupin. I know he isn't dangerous or anything, but I still think it's strange that no one told us about it, at least us Muggleborns who wouldn't figure it out for ourselves.” He became aware that Spencer was giving him a very odd look. “What?”
“What about Professor Lupin?” Spencer asked.
“That he's a werewolf,” Jon said.
It was interesting to see Spencer's reaction, because it wasn't so much that as a lack of reaction. He seemed to freeze all over, staring at Jon.
“Are you sure you know what that means?” he said finally.
Jon frowned, annoyed. “I know we don't always get the stories exactly right,” he said, “but we still hear them, even us Muggles. Besides, Luna told me,” he added, realising as he said it that this might somewhat undermine his point.
Spencer was still staring. “I guess it would make sense,” he said quietly. “Circe's warts...”
“What's the problem?” Jon asked, uneasy at the way Spencer had paled. “Luna said werewolves aren't actually dangerous, that that's just a myth.”
Spencer blinked and opened his mouth, then snorted and looked away. “Well, she would say that, wouldn't she,” he said. “Sorry, Jon, I have to go.”
“But-”
“Sorry, but it's important.” Spencer stood up. For a moment he seemed to hesitate, but then he shoved his things into his bag hurriedly and straightened up. “I'll see you on Friday.”
rofessor, I need to speak to you.” Spencer hesitated, taking in the piled up scrolls on Professor Snape's desk and the look the professor was directing at him. “If I may,” he added.
“What is this about?” Professor Snape asked, in a tone of voice that suggested the matter had better be extremely important.
Spencer hazarded a few steps further into the room. “It's just,” he said, “I was thinking about what you said in the beginning of the school year, sir. About coming to you if there was anything that worried us about any members of staff...”
He saw that he had hit the spot. Professor Snape's expression of guarded scepticism didn't change, but he laid his quill aside.
“You knew all along, right, sir?” Spencer said. “About Professor Lupin?”
“You will have to specify your question, Mr Smith,” Professor Snape said dryly. “I know quite a lot of things about Professor Lupin.” His lip curled. “Some of them nice.”
“You knew that he's a werewolf,” Spencer said. “Sir.”
“And you do not approve of my keeping this secret, I see,” Professor Snape said quietly.
Spencer hesitated, but he was not going to be intimidated into letting this one go. A werewolf, for Merlin's sake. An actual werewolf teaching under-age students. “I was just wondering if it's wise to let him-” he began, trailing off when he realised he wasn't exactly sure of how to finish the sentence.
“Professor Dumbledore assured me that Professor Lupin was no danger to any of you and that it was in the school's and the students' best interest not to let his-condition be known,” Professor Snape said. “Naturally I had my doubts, but far be it from me to question the wisdom of my superiors.”
He raised his eyebrows slightly, and Spencer felt his face grow hot.
“But still, Professor-” he tried.
“I have raised the same objections as yourself with the Headmaster,” Professor Snape interrupted, “but I do not have the ability to make any changes. I,” he said deliberately, “don't have that kind of pull.” He paused for a moment, looking at Spencer, then shrugged.
“I'm sorry, Mr Smith. It's out of my hands.”
t was Friday, which meant study group. However, it was also a lovely sunny day, which meant they'd taken their work outside. With little over three weeks to the exams, which were starting on the sixth of June, they'd started revising. This year, they were also including Defence Against the Dark Arts among the subjects.
“I almost miss last year and Professor Lockhart,” Jon said wistfully, staring at his notes about defensive hexing. “The worst I would have to worry about in a Defence Against the Dark Arts exam last year would be how to find a rhyme for jinx.”
“Minx,” Luna said immediately.
“Thinks,” Ryan suggested. “Drinks. Blinks. Winks.” He paused. “How would you get minx into a poem about how great Lockhart is, anyway?”
“Minxes can be very unpredictable,” Luna said seriously. “He could be trying to defend himself against one...”
“I'm not surprised you had trouble with Lockhart's homework last year.”
“I thought you liked Defence Against the Dark Arts,” Ginny said over the noise of Ryan's and Luna's continuing poetical debate, grinning at Jon. He waved his hands.
“Sure, yeah, I like it. I just don't like revising. But yeah, I'm really looking forward to next year. That's when we get to work with Dark Creatures.”
“I thought you were taking Care of Magical Creatures next year,” Spencer said lightly. “Not enough animals for you?”
“But Dark Creatures,” Jon insisted. “That's so cool. We'll learn all about stuff like Trolls and Kappas and-” He stopped himself abruptly. He'd been about to say werewolves, but with the way Spencer had reacted the last time he'd mentioned werewolves, he thought that it might not be a good idea. “Vampires!” he said instead. “It's all stuff from our fairy tales, so it'll be amazing to learn about them for real.”
He became aware that the rest of them were giving him odd looks. “Oh no,” he said. “Please don't tell me vampires don't exist.”
“They exist,” Spencer said. He looked as though he was trying not to laugh. “I wouldn't call them creatures, though. Especially not to their face.”
“What? Oh.” Jon felt his face heat up. “Right.”
“I'm looking forward to next, year, too,” Brendon said. “I hope Professor Lupin can beat the curse and stay on. I like him.”
“The curse?” Jon asked, thankful for the distraction.
“Yeah, Matt told me there's a curse on the post, that makes you leave after one year. He never had a Defence Against the Dark Arts who stayed more than that.”
“From what you've told me, Matt's class was a bit like the Weasley twins multiplied,” Spencer muttered. “If I was their Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, I wouldn't even last a term. No offence, Weasley.”
“None taken,” Ginny said wryly. “They hexed my bed to start croaking in the middle of each night before they left for Hogwarts for their third year, so I wouldn't miss them. It took Dad a week to reverse the hex.”
“No, no, but he told me that the post is actually cursed,” Brendon insisted. “No Defence Against the Dark Arts professor has ever lasted more than a year for the past fifteen years or something.”
“There's no curse like that,” Ryan protested, just as Luna said “That doesn't sound very probable.”
Jon laughed. “Our own professors have spoken,” he said. “I guess it's up to Professor Lupin to break the cycle.”
Just as he said it, he was aware of Spencer fidgeting with his book. Brendon seemed to notice the same thing.
“What?” he asked.
Spencer tried to look uncomprehending, but failed. “It's just-well, my father told me that Professor Lupin won't actually be coming back next year.”
“What?” Ginny said. “Why?”
“I don't know,” Spencer said uncomfortably. Jon frowned, confused. There was something about the way he had said that...
“Your father told you?” Brendon asked, and his expression was settling into something hard. “Or you told your father?”
The way Spencer flushed answered the question well enough.
“Why would you do that?” Brendon asked, his voice rising. “What do you have against Professor Lupin?”
“I don't have anything against-” Spencer began, his face darkening even further.
“He's one of the best professors we have!”
“That doesn't-”
“You just don't like him because he's poor or something, right?” Brendon said harshly. Spencer drew a deep breath.
“I only think a werewolf shouldn't be teaching!” he exclaimed.
There was a pregnant silence, broken by Ginny's gasp.
“A werewolf?” she said. “He's a werewolf?”
“Yes, and that's what I told my father,” Spencer said, giving Brendon a defiant glare. Brendon glared back, visibly shaken but still stubborn.
“So what?” he managed. “What's wrong with that?”
Spencer gaped at him. “He's a werewolf!” he said. “Once a month he turns into something that has to bite humans! It's part of their nature!”
“That isn't true,” Luna said, but neither of the boys was listening to her.
“Professor Dumbledore has to know,” Brendon said. “And he wouldn't allow Professor Lupin to teach here if it wasn't safe.”
“That's true, Spencer,” Ryan said, although he didn't look entirely certain about it. “Professor Dumbledore has to have thought it through.”
“Are they really that dangerous, then?” Jon asked. He was feeling rather confused about all this, not knowing who to believe. Despite her unusual way of talking and thinking, Luna usually knew what she was talking about-but all the rest of them seemed to agree that werewolves were extremely dangerous, even if they differed in what they thought about Professor Lupin.
“Yes,” Spencer and Ginny said together. “No,” said Luna.
“That isn't the point,” Brendon said, which was probably a yes as well. Ryan didn't say anything, but the way he avoided Jon's eyes was telling enough.
“The point,” Brendon said, “is that you can't just have people sacked because you feel like it. Just because he's a werewolf? That's so unfair!”
“No,” Spencer said calmly, “unfair would be to have him hauled out of the school and announcing in every major newspaper that he's a werewolf. Now he gets to keep his secret and apply for a job somewhere else. A full year as a Hogwarts professor is good on a merit list.”
“I agree with Spencer,” Jon said. “If he's actually dangerous, I don't think-”
“Oh, of course you agree with Spencer,” Brendon cut off, still glaring at Spencer. “But you can't decide for the entire school who should be professor or not; you can't just go behind Professor Lupin's and Professor Dumbledore's backs-I mean, did you even talk to Professor Dumbledore before you sent off an owl to you father and asked him to fix everything for you?”
“No, I didn't talk to Professor Dumbledore,” Spencer snapped, “because he obviously hasn't listened to sense so far!”
“I don't see why it would be a problem.” Luna's quiet voice cut through the debate. “Werewolves aren't actually dangerous. That's a myth, perpetuated by-”
“For Merlin's sake, will you stop saying that!” Spencer shouted.
Luna stopped in the middle of her sentence, eyes wide, and then closed her mouth slowly.
“You can't just shout at people like that!” Brendon shouted, red in the face. Spencer, who had looked shocked at his own outburst, bristled again.
“Yeah? And what are you doing now, then?”
“I didn't start this!”
“Oh come on!”
“Guys,” Jon tried, “calm down and let's just-”
“No.” Brendon stood up abruptly, shoving his Defence Against the Dark Arts books into his bag. “I'm not listening to this.”
He stalked off. Ryan, who had been unusually quiet, glanced at the rest of them and gathered his things as well, hurrying after Brendon.
“Brendon, wait!” they heard him call.
None of them said anything for a while. Jon and Ginny exchanged an embarrassed glance, neither of them wanting to break the silence.
Spencer sighed loudly and rubbed a hand over his face, then looked around at them, flushing when he met Luna's gaze.
“Look, I'm really sorry about shouting like that-” he began.
Luna shrugged and patted his hand. “You're wrong, you know,” she said calmly. “I understand if that's frustrating.”
Jon could see Spencer restraining himself from another outburst, and breathed out slowly when he only said, “Let's just get back to work or something, OK?”
rystal and Jackie send their love as well...
Spencer looked up from his father's letter quickly, seeing a movement by the Common Room entrance. It was only Pucey, however, and he turned back to his reading.
...their love as...
He looked up again, and this time he looked straight at Brendon. There was a moment of awkward stillness, when they both stared at each other, frozen, and then Spencer stood up quickly, almost knocking his chair over, and Brendon turned and hurried towards the dorms.
Spencer entered the corridor just as Brendon yanked the door to their dorm open. “Brendon, come on,” he said, hurrying forward. “Let's just talk. You haven't even listened to me-”
The door slammed in his face.
Spencer took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. Merlin, but Brendon could be immature sometimes. “Brendon,” he said, and tried the door handle. It wouldn't move.
Something snapped for Spencer. He'd tried to be reasonable about it; he'd tried talking to Brendon like a sensible person. Obviously, Brendon just didn't want to listen. “Fine!” he yelled, slamming both hands against the door and then stepping back to kick it. “Fine, be like that! And don't think I'm going to care when Aslam or Harper wants to get in and you have to explain how you could lock-”
A door opened a little further down the corridor and Simmons stepped out, stopping when she saw Spencer and giving him an odd look.
“Whatever,” Spencer muttered and, giving the door one final kick, walked away and back into the Common Room.
t had been three weeks. Brendon and Spencer still weren't talking to each other, and neither of them had shown up to study group since their fight. It had made everything awkward for the rest of them, Ryan reflected. Even if he thought Spencer had a point regarding Professor Lupin, for example, he'd rather break his broom than admit so to Brendon right now. He found it best to avoid the subject altogether, and not mention Spencer at all either.
“I can't believe how quickly this term went by,” he said to Brendon, as the two of them worked together in Potions on the last Friday before exams week.
“I know,” Brendon said, smiling at him. He'd been cheerful and talkative all lesson, but he'd also spent it sitting slightly turned away from the right side of the class room, where Spencer was working with the girl called Grey. “Exams on Monday already. How did that happen?”
“Well, at least we have orienteering to look forward to,” Ryan said. “Right after the last exams. I can't wait for it.”
“Oh, yeah, that's going to be so great,” Brendon said, real enthusiasm lighting up his face. “The tasks will be taken from all our subjects this time, right?”
“Yeah, we're supposed use everything we've learned over the year's different courses,” Ryan said, then smiled at Brendon. “You'll do well. You're good at everything.”
“That's not true,” Brendon said immediately, “didn't you see me with that Shrivelfig last Herbology?” He paused, then grinned. “No, sorry, that was Jon.”
“Wow, I have to be careful,” Ryan said. “Soon you won't be able to tell us apart.”
Brendon poked him with the bowtruckle leg he was just about to throw into their cauldron. “That'll never happen,” he said.
“Anyway,” Ryan said, after a brief poking war that ended with a victory to Brendon, “I think this one will be fun to watch, as well. Ginny can't make it, because she had promised to hang out with some girls from our class after the final exam, but the rest are coming to watch.”
He realised too late what he'd said when Brendon glanced towards the right side of the classroom, his entire expression shuttering close.
“Look,” Ryan said carefully, “don't you think that if you just talk to him-”
“No, I'm not going to talk to him,” Brendon interrupted. “I'm not, because he just wants to lecture me about how he knows what's best for everyone and I don't. He doesn't want to talk. Why should I?”
Ryan was taken aback. Brendon had all but snapped at him. It was strange-Brendon usually didn't hold grudges, and in this instance particularly, Ryan had been sure it would blow over a lot quicker. He knew that Brendon agreed with Spencer on some level. Brendon had admitted as much, after all.
”I mean, yes, of course Professor Lupin is dangerous,” he said, as they sat next to the greenhouses just after the fight, Brendon pulling tufts of grass form the ground moodily. “But I think you should get a chance anyway, you know? Otherwise it isn't fair. It's not like he can help it.”
Ryan sighed. “Sorry for bringing it up,” he said. “Forget I said anything.”
Brendon blinked. “No, sorry,” he said. “I didn't mean to snap. I just don't want to talk about it right now.”
“That's OK,” Ryan said. “So, do you have any tasks you hope you'll get again? For the orienteering, I mean. I know I've been looking for a chance to redeem that Charms task I messed up once.”
Brendon grinned gratefully. “I haven't really thought about it,” he said. “I'm just happy there's one more course before the end of the year. I think it'll be amazing, whatever happens.”
rendon halted in the air and looked over his map again, making sure he was on the right track. His next spot was marked on the lake shore, close to their starting point. Probably the last task for the course, Brendon thought with a mix of exhilaration and regret. Today's course had been even more fun than usual, being so versatile, and he didn't want it to be over by a long way.
As he landed on the shore next to the orb holding his final task he was hailed from above and looked up to see Diggory swooping towards him. He touched down beside Brendon and grinned, sticking out his hand to shake Brendon's.
“Great flying,” he said. “That was a nice dive you just did. Having fun?”
“Oh, yeah,” Brendon replied with enthusiasm. “I wish I had more tasks. I could go on doing this for ever.”
Diggory laughed. “I'm sure you're not the only one who thinks that,” he said. “But there's a day tomorrow, too, and all the older students have the opportunity to go to Hogsmeade.”
“I guess,” Brendon conceded, then looked at his map to see what kind of task he'd been given this time.
Underwater plants can be difficult to study, even when the water is clear as crystal. A small cutting of the plant is necessary to succeed in this task.
Brendon frowned at the text, completely confounded. A cutting of the plant? Which plant? He read the text again, as if that would somehow give him the answer, and then again.
And there the answer was. He laughed out loud, annoyed that he hadn't realised before.
“Your task sounds like fun,” Diggory said, looking up from his own instructions with a smile.
“Sometimes these clues are really corny,” Brendon said, looking out over the lake. Crystalwort, of course. He knew that it could attach itself to objects and grow underwater, which fitted in with the clue, but that it was even more usual to find it floating at the surface. Chances were, if he were to take his broom for a tour of the shoreline he would find a clump of crystalwort before long.
Brendon grinned to himself. He had never been interested in making things easy for himself.
“It seems I'm going swimming,” Diggory said, rolling up his map and stuffing it inside his robes. “How about you?”
“Me, too,” Brendon said. Diggory raised his eyebrows.
“Are you sure? Methods of breathing underwater haven't been covered by Year Two; the instructions shouldn't need you to.”
“No, but I've been looking for a chance to go diving anyway,” Brendon said. “My brother taught me this thing called the Bubblehead Charm.”
Diggory looked intrigued. “I'm impressed,” he said. “That's a really obscure one. I only found out about it through my uncle.”
“Matt did adventure diving in Papa New Guinea after his graduation,” Brendon said proudly. “Some Australian witch taught it to him.”
“Well, I'm glad to see I'll have a companion, then,” Diggory said, taking his wand out of his robes. “After you.”
Brendon grinned at him and took out his own wand, aware of Diggory's eyes on him as he performed the charm. The air bubble settled over his face easily, and he gave Diggory a thumbs up before stepping into the lake carefully. It felt odd, walking into the water fully clothed, but he and Ryan had talked about drying spells a few weeks back and he thought this could be an opportunity to try one out. He hesitated, then dived forward and kicked out, propelling himself into the deep end of the lake.
The world was green and blurry around him, the sun shining down in shimmering rays through the water. He stretched out his hand, watching the light play around his fingers. He'd been meaning to go swimming in the lake since he started at Hogwarts, but somehow, he'd never had the time or opportunity before. He resolved to ask Ryan to explore it with him at the first chance. There was enough to discover here to keep them busy for weeks.
He became aware of movement to his right and turned his head. Diggory was swimming next to him, and when he caught Brendon's eye, he waved cheerfully. Brendon laughed, waving back, then turned downwards and kicked out with his feet, putting on a bit of speed. He sensed Diggory doing the same beside him, and quickened his pace even more until they were racing along-as far as that was possible under water.
Brendon was so focused on keeping just that little bit ahead of Diggory that he almost missed the patch of crystalwort growing on a submerged log, but he caught sight of it in time and changed course quickly, cutting across Diggory's path. He pinched off a branch of the weed and pocketed it, then turned. Diggory was floating a bit off, watching him, and as Brendon turned he made a show of clapping his hands. Brendon grinned, bracing his feet against the lake bottom and getting ready to kick off towards the surface again.
He froze. He'd just been about to draw breath, but now he felt water rush against his lips.
He looked up and just had time to see Diggory's face, rigid with shock and horror, before the entire scene disappeared from his sight.
Next chapter
CHAPTER SEVEN
he spring term had gone by quicker than expected, Jon thought.
In the middle of April, the Quidditch season had come to its disappointing end (from his point of view), with Gryffindor facing Slytherin in the final match and beating them for the Cup with the narrowest of margins. He supposed from a purely spectator perspective, it had been a nail-biter to the very end, but after he'd learned that Brendon wouldn't be participating in the final-a match against Gryffindor meriting the heaviest and, of course, scariest line-up of the Slytherin team-he hadn't been terribly interested in the outcome. He had two friends in each House and had cheered the two teams on indiscriminately, although he had enjoyed the sight of Madam Hooch tearing a new one out of Montague for a particularly dirty foul.
After that a kind of lethargy had installed itself in the school, but then May had arrived and with it, the reminder of exams to come. For the first time in weeks, Jon and Spencer were actually using their Wednesday meeting to study, and it was taking its toll. Jon was bored out of his mind.
Finally he laid aside The Standard Book of Spells, Grade Two and pulled out his copy of the Daily Prophet. Spencer glanced up from his own work and gave him a look.
“Just doing my daily trawl,” Jon defended himself. “Just to clear my head.”
“Daily trawl?” Spencer asked, smiling. It looked as though he wouldn't mind being distracted from his studies for while, either.
“For news about Black,” Jon explained. “There still hasn't been any mention of the fact that he's entered Hogwarts twice. I just think that's weird. I mean, I think it would be in the public interest.”
Spencer shrugged.
“That's what I think is the weirdest thing about your world,” Jon said, aware of Spencer's frown at the use of the word “your” but ignoring it. “The way information isn't always shared with everyone.”
“They probably don't want to cause unnecessary panic,” Spencer said casually.
“It isn't only this, though,” Jon insisted. “I mean, it's like Professor Lupin. I know he isn't dangerous or anything, but I still think it's strange that no one told us about it, at least us Muggleborns who wouldn't figure it out for ourselves.” He became aware that Spencer was giving him a very odd look. “What?”
“What about Professor Lupin?” Spencer asked.
“That he's a werewolf,” Jon said.
It was interesting to see Spencer's reaction, because it wasn't so much that as a lack of reaction. He seemed to freeze all over, staring at Jon.
“Are you sure you know what that means?” he said finally.
Jon frowned, annoyed. “I know we don't always get the stories exactly right,” he said, “but we still hear them, even us Muggles. Besides, Luna told me,” he added, realising as he said it that this might somewhat undermine his point.
Spencer was still staring. “I guess it would make sense,” he said quietly. “Circe's warts...”
“What's the problem?” Jon asked, uneasy at the way Spencer had paled. “Luna said werewolves aren't actually dangerous, that that's just a myth.”
Spencer blinked and opened his mouth, then snorted and looked away. “Well, she would say that, wouldn't she,” he said. “Sorry, Jon, I have to go.”
“But-”
“Sorry, but it's important.” Spencer stood up. For a moment he seemed to hesitate, but then he shoved his things into his bag hurriedly and straightened up. “I'll see you on Friday.”
rofessor, I need to speak to you.” Spencer hesitated, taking in the piled up scrolls on Professor Snape's desk and the look the professor was directing at him. “If I may,” he added.
“What is this about?” Professor Snape asked, in a tone of voice that suggested the matter had better be extremely important.
Spencer hazarded a few steps further into the room. “It's just,” he said, “I was thinking about what you said in the beginning of the school year, sir. About coming to you if there was anything that worried us about any members of staff...”
He saw that he had hit the spot. Professor Snape's expression of guarded scepticism didn't change, but he laid his quill aside.
“You knew all along, right, sir?” Spencer said. “About Professor Lupin?”
“You will have to specify your question, Mr Smith,” Professor Snape said dryly. “I know quite a lot of things about Professor Lupin.” His lip curled. “Some of them nice.”
“You knew that he's a werewolf,” Spencer said. “Sir.”
“And you do not approve of my keeping this secret, I see,” Professor Snape said quietly.
Spencer hesitated, but he was not going to be intimidated into letting this one go. A werewolf, for Merlin's sake. An actual werewolf teaching under-age students. “I was just wondering if it's wise to let him-” he began, trailing off when he realised he wasn't exactly sure of how to finish the sentence.
“Professor Dumbledore assured me that Professor Lupin was no danger to any of you and that it was in the school's and the students' best interest not to let his-condition be known,” Professor Snape said. “Naturally I had my doubts, but far be it from me to question the wisdom of my superiors.”
He raised his eyebrows slightly, and Spencer felt his face grow hot.
“But still, Professor-” he tried.
“I have raised the same objections as yourself with the Headmaster,” Professor Snape interrupted, “but I do not have the ability to make any changes. I,” he said deliberately, “don't have that kind of pull.” He paused for a moment, looking at Spencer, then shrugged.
“I'm sorry, Mr Smith. It's out of my hands.”
t was Friday, which meant study group. However, it was also a lovely sunny day, which meant they'd taken their work outside. With little over three weeks to the exams, which were starting on the sixth of June, they'd started revising. This year, they were also including Defence Against the Dark Arts among the subjects.
“I almost miss last year and Professor Lockhart,” Jon said wistfully, staring at his notes about defensive hexing. “The worst I would have to worry about in a Defence Against the Dark Arts exam last year would be how to find a rhyme for jinx.”
“Minx,” Luna said immediately.
“Thinks,” Ryan suggested. “Drinks. Blinks. Winks.” He paused. “How would you get minx into a poem about how great Lockhart is, anyway?”
“Minxes can be very unpredictable,” Luna said seriously. “He could be trying to defend himself against one...”
“I'm not surprised you had trouble with Lockhart's homework last year.”
“I thought you liked Defence Against the Dark Arts,” Ginny said over the noise of Ryan's and Luna's continuing poetical debate, grinning at Jon. He waved his hands.
“Sure, yeah, I like it. I just don't like revising. But yeah, I'm really looking forward to next year. That's when we get to work with Dark Creatures.”
“I thought you were taking Care of Magical Creatures next year,” Spencer said lightly. “Not enough animals for you?”
“But Dark Creatures,” Jon insisted. “That's so cool. We'll learn all about stuff like Trolls and Kappas and-” He stopped himself abruptly. He'd been about to say werewolves, but with the way Spencer had reacted the last time he'd mentioned werewolves, he thought that it might not be a good idea. “Vampires!” he said instead. “It's all stuff from our fairy tales, so it'll be amazing to learn about them for real.”
He became aware that the rest of them were giving him odd looks. “Oh no,” he said. “Please don't tell me vampires don't exist.”
“They exist,” Spencer said. He looked as though he was trying not to laugh. “I wouldn't call them creatures, though. Especially not to their face.”
“What? Oh.” Jon felt his face heat up. “Right.”
“I'm looking forward to next, year, too,” Brendon said. “I hope Professor Lupin can beat the curse and stay on. I like him.”
“The curse?” Jon asked, thankful for the distraction.
“Yeah, Matt told me there's a curse on the post, that makes you leave after one year. He never had a Defence Against the Dark Arts who stayed more than that.”
“From what you've told me, Matt's class was a bit like the Weasley twins multiplied,” Spencer muttered. “If I was their Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, I wouldn't even last a term. No offence, Weasley.”
“None taken,” Ginny said wryly. “They hexed my bed to start croaking in the middle of each night before they left for Hogwarts for their third year, so I wouldn't miss them. It took Dad a week to reverse the hex.”
“No, no, but he told me that the post is actually cursed,” Brendon insisted. “No Defence Against the Dark Arts professor has ever lasted more than a year for the past fifteen years or something.”
“There's no curse like that,” Ryan protested, just as Luna said “That doesn't sound very probable.”
Jon laughed. “Our own professors have spoken,” he said. “I guess it's up to Professor Lupin to break the cycle.”
Just as he said it, he was aware of Spencer fidgeting with his book. Brendon seemed to notice the same thing.
“What?” he asked.
Spencer tried to look uncomprehending, but failed. “It's just-well, my father told me that Professor Lupin won't actually be coming back next year.”
“What?” Ginny said. “Why?”
“I don't know,” Spencer said uncomfortably. Jon frowned, confused. There was something about the way he had said that...
“Your father told you?” Brendon asked, and his expression was settling into something hard. “Or you told your father?”
The way Spencer flushed answered the question well enough.
“Why would you do that?” Brendon asked, his voice rising. “What do you have against Professor Lupin?”
“I don't have anything against-” Spencer began, his face darkening even further.
“He's one of the best professors we have!”
“That doesn't-”
“You just don't like him because he's poor or something, right?” Brendon said harshly. Spencer drew a deep breath.
“I only think a werewolf shouldn't be teaching!” he exclaimed.
There was a pregnant silence, broken by Ginny's gasp.
“A werewolf?” she said. “He's a werewolf?”
“Yes, and that's what I told my father,” Spencer said, giving Brendon a defiant glare. Brendon glared back, visibly shaken but still stubborn.
“So what?” he managed. “What's wrong with that?”
Spencer gaped at him. “He's a werewolf!” he said. “Once a month he turns into something that has to bite humans! It's part of their nature!”
“That isn't true,” Luna said, but neither of the boys was listening to her.
“Professor Dumbledore has to know,” Brendon said. “And he wouldn't allow Professor Lupin to teach here if it wasn't safe.”
“That's true, Spencer,” Ryan said, although he didn't look entirely certain about it. “Professor Dumbledore has to have thought it through.”
“Are they really that dangerous, then?” Jon asked. He was feeling rather confused about all this, not knowing who to believe. Despite her unusual way of talking and thinking, Luna usually knew what she was talking about-but all the rest of them seemed to agree that werewolves were extremely dangerous, even if they differed in what they thought about Professor Lupin.
“Yes,” Spencer and Ginny said together. “No,” said Luna.
“That isn't the point,” Brendon said, which was probably a yes as well. Ryan didn't say anything, but the way he avoided Jon's eyes was telling enough.
“The point,” Brendon said, “is that you can't just have people sacked because you feel like it. Just because he's a werewolf? That's so unfair!”
“No,” Spencer said calmly, “unfair would be to have him hauled out of the school and announcing in every major newspaper that he's a werewolf. Now he gets to keep his secret and apply for a job somewhere else. A full year as a Hogwarts professor is good on a merit list.”
“I agree with Spencer,” Jon said. “If he's actually dangerous, I don't think-”
“Oh, of course you agree with Spencer,” Brendon cut off, still glaring at Spencer. “But you can't decide for the entire school who should be professor or not; you can't just go behind Professor Lupin's and Professor Dumbledore's backs-I mean, did you even talk to Professor Dumbledore before you sent off an owl to you father and asked him to fix everything for you?”
“No, I didn't talk to Professor Dumbledore,” Spencer snapped, “because he obviously hasn't listened to sense so far!”
“I don't see why it would be a problem.” Luna's quiet voice cut through the debate. “Werewolves aren't actually dangerous. That's a myth, perpetuated by-”
“For Merlin's sake, will you stop saying that!” Spencer shouted.
Luna stopped in the middle of her sentence, eyes wide, and then closed her mouth slowly.
“You can't just shout at people like that!” Brendon shouted, red in the face. Spencer, who had looked shocked at his own outburst, bristled again.
“Yeah? And what are you doing now, then?”
“I didn't start this!”
“Oh come on!”
“Guys,” Jon tried, “calm down and let's just-”
“No.” Brendon stood up abruptly, shoving his Defence Against the Dark Arts books into his bag. “I'm not listening to this.”
He stalked off. Ryan, who had been unusually quiet, glanced at the rest of them and gathered his things as well, hurrying after Brendon.
“Brendon, wait!” they heard him call.
None of them said anything for a while. Jon and Ginny exchanged an embarrassed glance, neither of them wanting to break the silence.
Spencer sighed loudly and rubbed a hand over his face, then looked around at them, flushing when he met Luna's gaze.
“Look, I'm really sorry about shouting like that-” he began.
Luna shrugged and patted his hand. “You're wrong, you know,” she said calmly. “I understand if that's frustrating.”
Jon could see Spencer restraining himself from another outburst, and breathed out slowly when he only said, “Let's just get back to work or something, OK?”
rystal and Jackie send their love as well...
Spencer looked up from his father's letter quickly, seeing a movement by the Common Room entrance. It was only Pucey, however, and he turned back to his reading.
...their love as...
He looked up again, and this time he looked straight at Brendon. There was a moment of awkward stillness, when they both stared at each other, frozen, and then Spencer stood up quickly, almost knocking his chair over, and Brendon turned and hurried towards the dorms.
Spencer entered the corridor just as Brendon yanked the door to their dorm open. “Brendon, come on,” he said, hurrying forward. “Let's just talk. You haven't even listened to me-”
The door slammed in his face.
Spencer took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. Merlin, but Brendon could be immature sometimes. “Brendon,” he said, and tried the door handle. It wouldn't move.
Something snapped for Spencer. He'd tried to be reasonable about it; he'd tried talking to Brendon like a sensible person. Obviously, Brendon just didn't want to listen. “Fine!” he yelled, slamming both hands against the door and then stepping back to kick it. “Fine, be like that! And don't think I'm going to care when Aslam or Harper wants to get in and you have to explain how you could lock-”
A door opened a little further down the corridor and Simmons stepped out, stopping when she saw Spencer and giving him an odd look.
“Whatever,” Spencer muttered and, giving the door one final kick, walked away and back into the Common Room.
t had been three weeks. Brendon and Spencer still weren't talking to each other, and neither of them had shown up to study group since their fight. It had made everything awkward for the rest of them, Ryan reflected. Even if he thought Spencer had a point regarding Professor Lupin, for example, he'd rather break his broom than admit so to Brendon right now. He found it best to avoid the subject altogether, and not mention Spencer at all either.
“I can't believe how quickly this term went by,” he said to Brendon, as the two of them worked together in Potions on the last Friday before exams week.
“I know,” Brendon said, smiling at him. He'd been cheerful and talkative all lesson, but he'd also spent it sitting slightly turned away from the right side of the class room, where Spencer was working with the girl called Grey. “Exams on Monday already. How did that happen?”
“Well, at least we have orienteering to look forward to,” Ryan said. “Right after the last exams. I can't wait for it.”
“Oh, yeah, that's going to be so great,” Brendon said, real enthusiasm lighting up his face. “The tasks will be taken from all our subjects this time, right?”
“Yeah, we're supposed use everything we've learned over the year's different courses,” Ryan said, then smiled at Brendon. “You'll do well. You're good at everything.”
“That's not true,” Brendon said immediately, “didn't you see me with that Shrivelfig last Herbology?” He paused, then grinned. “No, sorry, that was Jon.”
“Wow, I have to be careful,” Ryan said. “Soon you won't be able to tell us apart.”
Brendon poked him with the bowtruckle leg he was just about to throw into their cauldron. “That'll never happen,” he said.
“Anyway,” Ryan said, after a brief poking war that ended with a victory to Brendon, “I think this one will be fun to watch, as well. Ginny can't make it, because she had promised to hang out with some girls from our class after the final exam, but the rest are coming to watch.”
He realised too late what he'd said when Brendon glanced towards the right side of the classroom, his entire expression shuttering close.
“Look,” Ryan said carefully, “don't you think that if you just talk to him-”
“No, I'm not going to talk to him,” Brendon interrupted. “I'm not, because he just wants to lecture me about how he knows what's best for everyone and I don't. He doesn't want to talk. Why should I?”
Ryan was taken aback. Brendon had all but snapped at him. It was strange-Brendon usually didn't hold grudges, and in this instance particularly, Ryan had been sure it would blow over a lot quicker. He knew that Brendon agreed with Spencer on some level. Brendon had admitted as much, after all.
”I mean, yes, of course Professor Lupin is dangerous,” he said, as they sat next to the greenhouses just after the fight, Brendon pulling tufts of grass form the ground moodily. “But I think you should get a chance anyway, you know? Otherwise it isn't fair. It's not like he can help it.”
Ryan sighed. “Sorry for bringing it up,” he said. “Forget I said anything.”
Brendon blinked. “No, sorry,” he said. “I didn't mean to snap. I just don't want to talk about it right now.”
“That's OK,” Ryan said. “So, do you have any tasks you hope you'll get again? For the orienteering, I mean. I know I've been looking for a chance to redeem that Charms task I messed up once.”
Brendon grinned gratefully. “I haven't really thought about it,” he said. “I'm just happy there's one more course before the end of the year. I think it'll be amazing, whatever happens.”
rendon halted in the air and looked over his map again, making sure he was on the right track. His next spot was marked on the lake shore, close to their starting point. Probably the last task for the course, Brendon thought with a mix of exhilaration and regret. Today's course had been even more fun than usual, being so versatile, and he didn't want it to be over by a long way.
As he landed on the shore next to the orb holding his final task he was hailed from above and looked up to see Diggory swooping towards him. He touched down beside Brendon and grinned, sticking out his hand to shake Brendon's.
“Great flying,” he said. “That was a nice dive you just did. Having fun?”
“Oh, yeah,” Brendon replied with enthusiasm. “I wish I had more tasks. I could go on doing this for ever.”
Diggory laughed. “I'm sure you're not the only one who thinks that,” he said. “But there's a day tomorrow, too, and all the older students have the opportunity to go to Hogsmeade.”
“I guess,” Brendon conceded, then looked at his map to see what kind of task he'd been given this time.
Underwater plants can be difficult to study, even when the water is clear as crystal. A small cutting of the plant is necessary to succeed in this task.
Brendon frowned at the text, completely confounded. A cutting of the plant? Which plant? He read the text again, as if that would somehow give him the answer, and then again.
And there the answer was. He laughed out loud, annoyed that he hadn't realised before.
“Your task sounds like fun,” Diggory said, looking up from his own instructions with a smile.
“Sometimes these clues are really corny,” Brendon said, looking out over the lake. Crystalwort, of course. He knew that it could attach itself to objects and grow underwater, which fitted in with the clue, but that it was even more usual to find it floating at the surface. Chances were, if he were to take his broom for a tour of the shoreline he would find a clump of crystalwort before long.
Brendon grinned to himself. He had never been interested in making things easy for himself.
“It seems I'm going swimming,” Diggory said, rolling up his map and stuffing it inside his robes. “How about you?”
“Me, too,” Brendon said. Diggory raised his eyebrows.
“Are you sure? Methods of breathing underwater haven't been covered by Year Two; the instructions shouldn't need you to.”
“No, but I've been looking for a chance to go diving anyway,” Brendon said. “My brother taught me this thing called the Bubblehead Charm.”
Diggory looked intrigued. “I'm impressed,” he said. “That's a really obscure one. I only found out about it through my uncle.”
“Matt did adventure diving in Papa New Guinea after his graduation,” Brendon said proudly. “Some Australian witch taught it to him.”
“Well, I'm glad to see I'll have a companion, then,” Diggory said, taking his wand out of his robes. “After you.”
Brendon grinned at him and took out his own wand, aware of Diggory's eyes on him as he performed the charm. The air bubble settled over his face easily, and he gave Diggory a thumbs up before stepping into the lake carefully. It felt odd, walking into the water fully clothed, but he and Ryan had talked about drying spells a few weeks back and he thought this could be an opportunity to try one out. He hesitated, then dived forward and kicked out, propelling himself into the deep end of the lake.
The world was green and blurry around him, the sun shining down in shimmering rays through the water. He stretched out his hand, watching the light play around his fingers. He'd been meaning to go swimming in the lake since he started at Hogwarts, but somehow, he'd never had the time or opportunity before. He resolved to ask Ryan to explore it with him at the first chance. There was enough to discover here to keep them busy for weeks.
He became aware of movement to his right and turned his head. Diggory was swimming next to him, and when he caught Brendon's eye, he waved cheerfully. Brendon laughed, waving back, then turned downwards and kicked out with his feet, putting on a bit of speed. He sensed Diggory doing the same beside him, and quickened his pace even more until they were racing along-as far as that was possible under water.
Brendon was so focused on keeping just that little bit ahead of Diggory that he almost missed the patch of crystalwort growing on a submerged log, but he caught sight of it in time and changed course quickly, cutting across Diggory's path. He pinched off a branch of the weed and pocketed it, then turned. Diggory was floating a bit off, watching him, and as Brendon turned he made a show of clapping his hands. Brendon grinned, bracing his feet against the lake bottom and getting ready to kick off towards the surface again.
He froze. He'd just been about to draw breath, but now he felt water rush against his lips.
He looked up and just had time to see Diggory's face, rigid with shock and horror, before the entire scene disappeared from his sight.
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